Would Micah Parsons sacrifice a payday to stay with the Cowboys?

Dallas Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons has hinted he may take a hometown discount. 

San Francisco 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa became the highest-paid defensive player in the league when he signed a five-year, $170M deal in 2023. Parsons  — who is set to play on his fifth-year option in 2025 —could command a contract worth $40M annually, but he doesn't want that.

"It would be nice to be surrounded by good players," the LB said Thursday, per Ed Werder of WFAA-TV in Dallas. "Players are going to help you win championships, I want to keep as many guys as possible. ... I want to work with them."

Micah Parsons says he doesn’t need Cowboys to pay him $40M or to become NFL’s highest-paid defensive player.
“It would be nice to be surrounded by good players. Players are going to help you win championships. I want to keep as many guys as possible. … I want to work with them.” pic.twitter.com/XvmROc6dWj

— Ed Werder (@WerderEdNFL) December 19, 2024

Parsons may not be bluffing, either. On a Monday episode of his podcast, "The Edge with Micah Parsons," he said, "We're gonna figure out a way for me to be a Cowboy for life."

The Cowboys' finances are tight after they signed quarterback Dak Prescott (four years, $240M) and wide receiver CeeDee Lamb (four years, $136M) to mega extensions before the season started. Spotrac estimates they will have $19.892M in cap space in 2025.

Although Parsons says he's flexible, extending him would still deplete future cap room and make it harder to build the roster. 

If Dallas moved Parsons, it would create more cap space and receive some draft capital. Per Spotrac, trading the 25-year-old with a post-June 1 designation would yield no dead cap and $24.007M in savings.